Divisions and Committees

About

Description of Constituency: Who we are.

The ASPRS members in the GIS - Division have eclectic professional backgrounds and interests and the majority of the GIS - Division membership is professionally involved in other mapping sciences’ technologies also and often have overlapping interests in the other four ASPRS National Divisions. The widespread adoption and use of GIS equipment, software, and GIS services by mapping professionals for collection, storage, analysis and cartographic tasks has made it a mainstay in modern mapping sciences. The expansion in the use of GIS technology has spurred the adoption of data collection, data processing, data interpretation, and image processing technologies inside and outside the mapping sciences. GIS has acted as an integrating technology rather than a competing technology in the mapping sciences. The GIS Division represents an integrator of the mapping sciences technologies which creates a framework for division support and spatial analysis which uses data and analyses from the other technologies represented by the Society.

How to Become a Member of the GIS - Division

Members of ASPRS can join the GIS division during the initial membership or renewal process by selecting it on the membership form. You must be a member of ASPRS to be a member of the GIS-Division of ASPRS. It is a voluntary election by the ASPRS member to join the GIS-Division and requires no extra dues. This entitles, but does not require, the GIS-Division member to serve on committees, participate in meetings or activities, or comment on standards developed by the division, also, to be elected as officer or act as liaison to other divisions for the GIS-Division. This also adds the ASPRS member to the e-mailing list for GIS-Division announcements.

Mission Statement

The mission of the GIS Division of ASPRS is to promote and encourage responsible and ethical research and professional practice within the realm of Geographical Information Systems and Science. GIS-D is to establish and maintain the professional training and ethical standards for researchers and users of Geographical Information Systems within ASPRS. To encourage the responsible exchange of ideas and data that relate to GIS and to facilitate the integrating nature of the discipline.

Vision Statement

The vision of the GIS – Division on ASPRS is to grow a professional community of practitioners and researchers who approach geographical information systems and geographical information science through the lens of the mapping sciences.

Niche Statement

The Geographic Information Systems will fill these niches:

Support the Presidential Executive Order to create a national geospatial data framework through the development of relationships with and participation in the Federal Geographic Data Committee, the National Spatial Data Infrastructure, the National Information Infrastructure and by local interagency and interorganizational agreements on data availability, communications and data/applications standards.

Assume a leadership role in the application of GIS in the areas of environmental monitoring, ecosystem management, and land use planning.

Promote and facilitate the integration of core (Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing, and GIS) and supporting (include but are not limited to: Cartography, Global Positioning Systems, Image Processing, Photo Interpretation, Spatial Analysis, 3-D Visualization, Decision Support and Database Design) technologies through the encouragement of the development of enhanced spatial analysis, database design, visualization, and decision support applications among the Divisions in the Society.

Advance responsible practice and protect the professional stature of the members engaged in the use of GIS technologies through the thoughtful use, application, and adherence to the ASPRS Code of Ethics.

Maintain an open forum for responsible practice for ASPRS and other professional societies by the promotion, preparation, support, and production of publications, workshops, training and forums regarding the use of GIS with the integration of the core and supporting technologies.

Goals & Tactical Actions

Goal 1: Create enhanced communication network within Division, bridge to other Divisions, and to other professional societies and individuals using spatial data and GIS technology.

Tactical Actions:

Publish in PE&RS the strategic plan of the GISD to encourage involvement by professionals identifying the Division as their primary interest as well as all others in mapping sciences.

Obtain a membership roster from ASPRS for the GIS Division.

Establish an electronic bulletin board via the Internet for Division issues and communications.

Establish a deputy chair position (past Director) to provide support for the incumbent Division Chair and to ensure continuity of GISD activities.

Solicit the identification of issues that are of serious concern to members and non-members alike and provide a mechanism for members to respond to and to participate in the resolution.

Goal 2: Actively support the National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI)

Tactical Actions:

Create a plan which will identify the role that GIS Division and ASPRS members can play in the enhancement of the NSDI effort.

Establish or contribute to a quarterly PE&RS column on what NSDI means to ASPRS activities.

Establish linkages with the NSDI through membership recruitment for direct participation.

Continue leadership role within ASPRS by coordinating "standing" sessions or workshops at annual GIS/LIS meeting on NSDI.

Identify opportunities and occurrences of interorganization cooperation and highlight such instances as representing nodes of the NSDI.

Goal 3: Assume a leadership role in the applications of GIS in the important areas of environmental monitoring, ecosystem management and land use planning.

Tactical Actions:

Survey and contact other professional societies, universities, government agencies, private organizations, publications, conferences and symposium to identify the larger population of users of GIS technology and their perceived needs, niches and goals and to define the leadership role that can be played by ASPRS.

Formulate a process that will promote a series of journal articles, conference papers, and training workshops in environmental monitoring, ecosystem management, and land use planning.

Establish a mechanism to maintain communications with other interest groups both within and without the ASPRS to better promote a leadership role in the application of GIS in environmental monitoring, ecosystem management and land use planning.

Survey and contact other professional societies, universities, government agencies, and private organizations to identify those who have successfully implemented GIS technology in terms of systems update, maintenance, and use.

Solicit a series of PE&RS articles and conference papers which focus on the problems encountered, failures, and processes used for successfully creating an operational GIS.

Incorporate individual GIS technology operational success stories into a book or training materials, or both, and use to develop a workshop for GIS managers or a classroom education plan for university curriculums.

Evaluate the need and purpose of the Applications, Education, Programs, Publications, and Awards Technical Committees and identify any new Technical Committees and summarize duties and responsibilities of each. The revised set of committees and their roles are to be coordinated with the committees of the other ASPRS Divisions.

Identify and appoint Technical Committee leads.

Goal 6: Activity support ANSI GIS Standards Committee through the Professional Practice Division.

Tactical Actions:

Establish communication linkages with the GISD and the PPD and the ANSI GIS Standards Committee, possibly through direct participation, while recognizing that ASPRS is represented on the committee by PPD.